Set up in 1986 by a small group of friends, Crusaid was a direct response to the destructive nature of AIDS in the 1980s. Crusaid’s earliest grants were to projects such as in-patient hospital wards and helping with funeral expenses.
20 years on, extraordinary progress has been made in treating the virus, but the pandemic is still on the rise. Crusaid is now funding prevention and education projects in the UK and Africa, for example, supporting outpatient clinics and back-to-work projects. In 2002, Crusaid began working in Africa – the region most affected by the global AIDS pandemic.
Crusaid funds projects for some of the poorest individuals and communities in the UK and Africa – who, without Crusaid funding, would have nowhere else to turn.
The Crusaid Hardship Fund provides small grants to individuals who have needs which are compounded by their HIV health.
Grants for essentials such as food, clothing and heating can help to reduce the risk of opportunistic infections which may result in a stay in hospital. While washing machines and extra bedding are vital if you suffer from symptoms of HIV and AIDS such as incontinence and night sweats.
Grants are means-tested and support those people in poverty who have nowhere else to turn. Each grant therefore makes a major difference to someone’s life.
Crusaid’s UK portfolio also focuses on education. We are very proud to have launched the first HIV module specifically for key stage 5 in 2006.
AWARE! The Crusaid Media Kit encourages students to research HIV and AIDS issues by studying the media and language. As well as facts and figures about HIV and AIDS, the site tells users about the history of HIV and AIDS. There is also a competition to see which school can run the best awareness campaign.
In Africa, Crusaid has funded a number of successful projects including the Hannan Crusaid Treatment Clinic in Guguletu, the Western Cape, South Africa. Made possible by a generous legacy from Katie Hannan, the treatment protocol piloted at the Clinic has been picked up by the Western Cape Government and is being rolled out across the region.
From just 150 patients in 2002, the clinic now treats over 3,000 outpatients and has shown that people can comply with complex treatments, given the chance.
MORE PEOPLE IN THE UK AND AFRICA ARE INFECTED WITH HIV THAN EVER BEFORE.
CRUSAID NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT MORE THAN EVER.
Ways to support Crusaid:
Make a donation
Attend an event
Visit the Crusaid shop
Take part in Crusaid’s Walk for Life
Crusaid History and Timeline of an Epidemic
| 1986 | Crusaid founded as a response to the worsening levels of poverty and stigma faced by people living with HIV and AIDS. |
| 1987 | André Durand's picture VOTIVE OFFERING unveiled at St James's Piccadilly on 1 November to launch and benefit Crusaid. |
| 1987-1988 | VOTIVE OFFERING pilgrimage to all the major cathedrals in England & Scotland, and to the International AIDS Conference in Montréal, 1988. To raise awareness of AIDS and Crusaid. |
| 1988 | The first million is raised by the charity to assist those struggling to cope with what is, at that time, an untreatable illness. |
| 1989 | Crusaid organises the very first Walk for Life - Europe's largest sponsored walk for HIV and AIDS becomes a regular feature on the UK events calendar every single year. (www.walkforlife.co.uk) |
| 1990 | The number of HIV diagnoses in the UK alone tops 17,000. Meanwhile, West End Cares - the theatre arm of Crusaid - is established and forms the ongoing committed response from the UK theatre community to the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. Rebranded as Theatrecares in February 2002, the organisation has now raised well over £3million to help fight HIV and AIDS. More details at www.theatrecares.org.uk |
| 1992 | Rudolf Nureyev dances for Crusaid as part of 'Dance Cares'. He later died as a result of AIDS-related illnesses. |
| 1993 | Crusaid's Star Appeal launched - people lost to the epidemic have stars dedicated to them on a special wall at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital in west London. |
| 1994 | The number of people infected with HIV and AIDS worldwide hits 17 million. |
| 1995 | Just seven years after the formation of the charity, Crusaid announces the total monies raised hits a staggering £10 million. |
| 1996 | The total number of UK deaths as a result of AIDS reaches 11,881. |
| 1997 | The first effective combination treatments become available - revolutionising the lives and health of many people living with a positive diagnosis. |
| 1998 | UK AIDS deaths halved - just one year after the mainstream introduction of anti-retroviral drugs to treat positive people. |
| 1999 | Crusaid becomes the first UK-based HIV and AIDS charity to provide funds for the search for a vaccine and cure through the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (www.iavi.org) |
| 2000 | The number of global deaths as a result of AIDS reaches 21.8 million. |
| 2001 | Crusaid's total funds raised to combat the pandemic hits £20 million. |
| 2002 | Worldwide, 42 million are dead because of HIV/AIDS - more people than the entire population of Spain. Crusaid starts to fund treatment and care for 150 positive people at the charity's clinic in Guguletu, Republic of South Africa. |
| 2003 | New figures show that someone dies each and every 11 seconds from what is now the world's most deadly infectious disease. |
| 2004 | The Crusaid Hardship Fund disburses its 25,000th grant. As the need for support from the Hardship Fund continues to grow, the importance of the Crusaid Hardship Fund becomes more apparent – proving how important this support is to so many people struggling to live with an HIV diagnosis, in real poverty. |
| 2005 | On 3 March The Hannan Crusaid Treatment Centre, the first dedicated
antiretroviral treatment (ART) clinic was officially opened by Ebrahim
Rasool, the Premier of the Western Cape Government and Crusaid's Chief
Executive, Robin Brady. From an initial group of 150 people, the Centre now treats over 1,000 people, and the approach to treatment we pioneered and proved in Guguletu is about to be rolled out in every new clinic across the region. |
| 2005 | The Crusaid Hardship Fund disburses the 30,000th grant. “The demand on the Crusaid Hardship Fund had risen with the number of people living with HIV in the UK. With the recent disbursement of our 30,000th grant, the work of the Fund continues to provide a lifeline. Since its inception, The Crusaid Hardship Fund has helped more than 1 in 4 people living with a positive diagnosis in the UK”. – Steven Inman, Head of Grants and Projects |
| 2006 | Crusaid celebrates twenty years |
| 2007 | Twentieth anniversary celebration of the unveiling of VOTIVE OFFERING and Crusaid's work. |